Safety class plan for P-plate drivers

P-platers nationwide would have to attend road-safety lessons before they get their full licence under a Commonwealth proposal to be considered by state and territory transport ministers today.

Under the proposal, P-platers would return to the classroom within the first six months of getting their licences to study the risks and hazards on the road and their limitations as drivers.

The program would not involve behind-the-wheel advanced car-handling techniques. It would be compulsory and could be completed in a day.

Federal Transport Minister John Anderson said young drivers are dying at a shocking rate. Drivers under 21 are 11 times more likely to die per kilometre of road travel than drivers aged in their 40s. One in three deaths of Australians aged 15 to 24 is road-related, the Federal Government says.

"While we're right to concentrate on the inappropriate use of speed, on fatigue . . . we also need . . . to better equip our young drivers so that we lose less of them in tragic road accidents," Mr Anderson said.");document.write("

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Novice drivers were still developing skills, lacked insight into road risks and were over-confident, he said. "The new driver-education program would provide drivers with a better insight into the risks they face and their own limitation.

"Often, they are not fully aware of the risks involved in their driving decisions," he said.

Austroads, a research and development organisation, would be commissioned to devise the course by November.

The Government will propose the scheme to ministers at a meeting of the Australian Transport Council. A spokesman said the Commonwealth would propose that the cost be shared between the two tiers of government and car manufacturers.